Techniken Defunkus

Techniken Defunkus

Artist: Techniken Defunkus
He says “I was born in New York City, and was raised there as well, in a full-on jazz household. My dad has written about jazz since the fifties, and my childhood was full of visits to clubs, concerts, festivals, etc. Dexter Gordon attended an early birthday of mine. Dizzy Gillespie pulled a knife on me at age ten in Japan. Odd stuff like that.

“In college I worked as a dj, first at the radio station, then parties. I also started cutting up sounds on an early Macbook, and used it to manipulate loops in an ‘electronic blues band’. After graduation, spinning records in bards and clubs gradually became less interesting than making music in the ‘studio’, mainly sample-heavy tracks starting in the late nineties. I’ve also done sound design work for theatrical productions with director Tim Lee for years. Sound design work has been responsible for making me take leaps, especially compositionally.”

He explains his process: “I don’t use VSTs, as I use Reason & Record, which includes a variety of synths and samplers. I tend to use a combination. Any loops tend to be reconfigured, chopped and edited in some way .Samples were my bread and butter for a long time, but now I’ll create melodies or grooves using synths or sampled instruments. It’s a way to tell a story with a melodic element, that aspect of jazz brought in to it.”

And what is his music-making method? “When I work on personal music projects sometimes a technique I want to try will determine how I approach the song. Samples I’ve chosen can really influence my path. I’m generally very open in my process, and like to follow my nose to see where it takes me. I’ll try to push in a direction, but I also want to see what the song ‘wants to be’. When I do commissioned sound design work it’s very different; then I’m trying to figure out how to create a specific mood or effect. Then it’s much more direct path to a goal.”